This invention relates to a waste tape disposing means of a tape feeder and more particularly to an improved arrangement for disposing of waste tape from a tape feeding mechanism.
One commonly employed form of assembling mechanism employs small parts that are fed on a tape and which are protected within a protective cover. This protective cover is stripped back from the tape during the feeding operation so as to access the parts carried on the tape. Generally, the tape containing the parts is wound onto a feed roll and is fed to the assembly apparatus. A stripping mechanism is positioned forwardly of the feed roll and the protective cover is stripped back and then rolled onto a take-up roll for disposal. Generally, these take-up rolls are disposed immediately above the feed tape and hence have limited capability for holding the stripped protective cover.
This arrangement may be best understood by reference to FIG. 1 which is a figure showing a prior art type of feed and waste tape take-up mechanism. As may be seen in this Figure, a feed tape roll, indicated generally by the reference numeral 11 is provided on which a tape, indicated generally by the reference numeral 12 is wound. The feed roll 11 is supported for rotation in a feed direction about an axis, with the direction of feed being indicated by the arrow A.
The tape 12 includes a backing or carrier portion 13 which is formed with individual recesses, which will be discussed and described later in the specification, in which parts to be assembled are contained. A protective cover film 14 is provided over the carrier tape 13 and is intended to hold these small parts in position.
The parts carried on the carrier tape 13 are normally, as noted, small parts and may include components that will be employed and added onto a printed circuit board to provide a functional circuit. The parts to be assembled may, for example, be integrated chips or the like.
A stripper mechanism, indicated generally by the reference numeral 15 is positioned in the line of feed of the tape from the feed roll 11 and is positioned adjacent a back-up roller, indicated generally by the reference numeral 16, which may also drive the tape 12 in a feed direction and which has driving teeth 17 for this purpose.
The stripping mechanism 15 is provided with a slot 18 through which the protective cover 14 is fed and then is returned back onto a take-up roll, indicated generally by the reference numeral 19 and which is supported for rotation about an axis 21. The take-up roll 19 may be driven in an appropriate manner.
As may be readily apparent from the illustrated prior art construction, the positioning of the take-up roller 19 next to the feed roller 11 dictates a small diameter for the take-up roller. Therefore, the apparatus must be stopped quite frequently in order to permit new take-up rollers to be inserted and the older take-up roller being disposed. Said another way, this type of prior art construction does not permit continuous operation because of the necessity of periodically stopping the equipment to remove the filled up take-up roller.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved waste tape disposing means for a tape feeder.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a waste tape disposing means for a tape feeder that will permit continuous operation.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a waste tape disposing means for a tape feeder wherein the waste tape may be transported to a remote area and easily disposed of without encumbering the equipment.
In addition to the necessity of removing and disposing of the protective cover, the carrier tape also must be transported to a disposal area once the individual pieces have been removed from it. Normally this has been done by removing the back-up or carrier tape to a different area and possibly winding it on a further take-up roller. Hence, the protective cover and carrier tape are transported to different locations and must be disposed of separately. This obviously complicates the mechanism and does not permit a compact assembly.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide a waste tape disposing structure wherein both a protective tape and a carrier tape may be removed to the same location and disposed of simultaneously.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a waste tape disposing means wherein both waste carrier and protective tapes can be reassembled and disposed of together.